The Nobel Prize in Physics 1915 The Nobel Prize in Physics 1915 William Bragg, Lawrence Bragg The Nobel Prize in Physics 1915 Sir William Henry Bragg William Lawrence Bragg Prize share: 1/2 The Nobel Prize in Physics 1915 was awarded jointly to Sir William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays" Photos: Copyright © The Nobel Foundation Share this: To cite this page MLA style: "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1915". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 20 Jan 2017. < The Nobel Prizes: A family tradition - USATODAY.com The Nobel Prizes: A family tradition Posted 10/4/2006 9:12 AM ET By Karl Ritter, The Associated Press STOCKHOLM  For some Nobel Prize laureates, winning the coveted awards is a family tradition. Six fathers-and-sons, four married couples and two brothers have won Nobels since the first awards were handed out in 1901.

But no one beats the Curie family of France. Marie Curie became the first woman laureate when she shared the physics prize in 1903 with her husband, Pierre. Marie went on to win a second Nobel eight years later, this time in chemistry. Their daughter Irene Joliot-Curie followed suit, sharing the 1935 chemistry prize with her husband Frederic Joliot for their synthesis of radioactive elements. They remain the only family to have won husband-wife awards through two generations. On Wednesday, Roger D. Kornberg became the latest laureate to continue a Nobel family tradition when he was pronounced the winner of the 2006 chemistry award. His father, Arthur Kornberg, won the medicine prize in 1959. Roger Kornberg still remembers joining his father at age 12 to pick up the award at a pomp-filled ceremony in Stockholm. "I can recall vividly traveling Stockholm in 1959, at the time of my father's award. I have always been an admirer of his work and that of many others preceding me," Roger Kornberg said.

Hakan Wennerstrom, chairman of the chemistry prize committee, said Kornberg's family history may have been part of the reason he was allowed to conduct his research for more than a decade before producing a single major publication of his results. That is a rare luxury in the world of science, where financial backers often want instant results, he said. "I guess it helps to have a father who is a Nobel laureate." Only one father-son duo has been honored for the same Nobel Prize. In 1915, Briton William Bragg shared the physics award with his 25-year-old son Lawrence Bragg — the youngest Nobel laureate ever. Danish scientist Niels Bohr won the Nobel physics prize in 1922 and his son Aage Bohr repeated the feat in 1975. Other father-son laureates are Swedes Hans von Euler-Chelpin (chemistry, 1929) and Ulf von Euler (medicine, 1970) and Manne Siegbahn (physics, 1924) and Kai Siegbahn (physics, 1981).

Briton Joseph John Thomson and his son George Thomson both won the physics prize, in 1906 and 1937, respectively. The only siblings to bask in Nobel glory were Jan and Nikolaas Tinbergen of the Netherlands. Jan won the first award in economics in 1969 while Nikolaas won the medicine prize in 1973. In a 2004 article, Dutch economist Auke R. Leen examined why both brothers won Nobels despite having completely different personalities and interests. "They did share several factors: genes and family upbringing that encouraged intellectual curiosity and independent thinking," Leen wrote. The only Nobel Prize free of family traditions is the literature award. No direct relative of a literature prize winner is among the Nobel laureates. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Posted 10/4/2006 9:12 AM ET William Henry Bragg (1854 - 1942) - Genealogy William Henry Bragg in City of London, Greater London, UK Immediate Family: Australian Newspapers Text: ...

MAGICIAN Noted scientist aud magician of the lecture room, Sir William Bragg, died In London last Thursday night. He was president of th... Publication: Mar 17 1942 - Narrandera Region, New South Wales, Australia Page: Australian Newspapers Text: ... Sc'ehti!« t L.ONDOX, March. 15.-Tho death has occurred of Sir William Bragg, the noted British scientist. He was 79 ... recovered. Ile w... Publication: Mar 16 1942 - Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia Page: Newspaper Archive Text: "...thc No- bel Prize with his son William Lawrence Bragg In 1915 for their work on X-rays and died today at the age of 79 Also In 1915 t... Date: Newspaper Archive Text: "...Sir William Lawrence Bragg fnr research work on X-rays and tal structures died today COWBOY USES METER AMARILLO Texas co wb oy who d ... Date: Newspaper Archive Text: "...of aeronautics adapted to serve the national interest Sir William Bragg Scientist Is Dead LONDON March William Bragg 79 the scientist...

Date: Newspaper Archive Text: ... Additional services and burial will take place in lis Saturday Sir William Bragg LONDON UR Sir William Bragg 79 famous physicist who in ... Date: Mar 12 1942 - London, England Parents: Robert John Bragg, Mary Wood Wife: brother About Sir William H. Bragg, Nobel Prize Sir William Henry Bragg OM, KBE, PRS (2 July 1862 – 10 March 1942) was a British physicist, chemist, mathematician and active sportsman who uniquely shared a Nobel Prize with his son William Lawrence Bragg - the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics. The mineral Braggite is named after him and his son. Biography Early years Bragg was born at Westward near Wigton, Cumberland, the son of Robert John Bragg, a merchant marine officer and farmer, and his wife Mary née Wood, a clergyman's daughter. When Bragg was seven years old, his mother died, and he was raised by his uncle, also named William Bragg, at Market Harborough, Leicestershire.

He was educated at the Old Grammar School there, at King William's College on the Isle of Man, and having won an exhibition [scholarship], at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1884 as third wrangler, and in 1885 was awarded a "first" in the mathematical tripos. University of Adelaide In 1885, (at the age of 23), Bragg was appointed Elder Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Physics at the University of Adelaide, and started work there early in 1886. Being a skilled mathematician, at that time he had limited knowledge of physics, most of which was in the form of applied mathematics he had learnt at Trinity. Also at that time, there were only about a hundred students doing full courses at Adelaide, of whom less than a handful belonged to the science school, whose deficient teaching facilities Bragg improved by apprenticing himself to a firm of instrument makers. Bragg was an able and popular lecturer; he encouraged the formation of the student union, and the attendance, free of charge, of science teachers at his lectures. Bragg's interest in physics developed, particularly in the field of electromagnetism.

In 1895 he was visited by Ernest Rutherford, en-route from New Zealand to Cambridge; this was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. "The turning-point in Bragg's career came in 1904 when he gave the presidential address to section A of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science at Dunedin, New Zealand", on "Some Recent Advances in the Theory of the Ionization of Gases". This idea was followed up "in a brilliant series of researches" which, within three years, earned him a fellowship of the Royal Society of London. This paper was also the origin of his first book Studies in Radioactivity (1912). Soon after the delivery of his 1904 address, some radium bromide was made available to Bragg for experimentation. In December 1904 his paper "On the Absorption of a Rays and on the Classification of the a Rays from Radium" appeared in the Philosophical Magazine, and in the same issue a paper "On the Ionization Curves of Radium", written in collaboration with his student Richard Kleeman, also appeared. At the end of 1908 Bragg returned to England.

During his 23 years in Australia "he had seen the number of students at the University of Adelaide almost quadruple, and had a full share in the development of its excellent science school." Whilst in Adelaide, Bragg played tennis and golf, and as a founding member of the North Adelaide and Adelaide University Lacrosse Clubs, contributed to the introduction of lacrosse to South Australia. He also met Gwendoline née Todd, a skilled water-colour painter, whom he married in 1889. Their first son, William Lawrence, was born in North Adelaide in 1890. University of Leeds Bragg occupied the Cavendish chair of physics at the University of Leeds from 1909. He continued his work on X-rays with much success. He invented the X-ray spectrometer and with his son, William Lawrence Bragg, then a research student at Cambridge, founded the new science of X-ray analysis of crystal structure. From 1914, both father and son contributed to the war effort; W.H. Bragg was connected with submarine detection, at Aberdour on Forth and at Harwich, and returned to London in 1918 as a consultant to the admiralty.

In 1915 father and son were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies, using the X-ray spectrometer, of X-ray spectra, X-ray diffraction, and of crystal structure. Ten years later, their volume X-Rays and Crystal Structure (1915) had reached a fifth edition. University College London Bragg was appointed Quain Professor of physics at University College London in 1915, but did not take up his duties there until after World War I. While Quain professor at London he continued his work on crystal analysis. Royal Institution From 1923 he was Fullerian professor of chemistry at the Royal Institution and director of the Day Faraday Research Laboratory. This institution was practically rebuilt in 1929-30 and, under Bragg's directorship, many valuable papers were issued from the laboratory. Legacy Bragg was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1907, vice-president in 1920, and served as President of the Royal Society from 1935 to 1940.

The lecture theatre of King William's College (KWC) is named in memory of Bragg; the Sixth-Form invitational literary debating society at KWC, the Bragg Society, is also named in his memory. One of the school "Houses" at Robert Smyth School, Market Harborough, Leicester, is named "Bragg" in memory of him being a student there. Since 1992, the Australian Institute of Physics has awarded The Bragg Gold Medal for Excellence in Physics for the best PhD thesis by a student at an Australian University. The two sides of the medal contain the images of Sir William Henry and his son Sir William Lawrence Bragg. In 1889 in Adelaide, W.H. Bragg married Gwendoline Todd, a skilled water-colour painter, and daughter of astronomer, meteorologist and electrical engineer Sir Charles Todd. They had three children, a daughter, Gwendolen and two sons, (William) Lawrence (W.L.) and Robert. Robert was killed in the Battle of Gallipoli. W.H.'s wife Gwendoline died in 1929. W.H.

Bragg died in 1942 in England and was survived by his daughter Gwendolen (Mrs. Alban Caroe) and his son, Sir William Lawrence Bragg. William H. Bragg was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1917, Knight Commander (KBE) in 1920, and was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1931. The Experimental Technique Centre at Brunel University is named the Bragg Building. In 1962, the Bragg Laboratories were constructed at The University of Adelaide to commemorate 100 years since the birth of Sir William H. Bragg. Timeline Sir William Henry Bragg OM, KBE, PRS (2 July 1862 – 10 March 1942) was a British physicist, chemist, mathematician and active sportsman who uniquely shared a Nobel Prize with his son William Lawrence Bragg – the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics: "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays". The mineral Braggite is named after him and his son.

He was knighted in 1920 Biography Early years Bragg was born at Westward near Wigton, Cumberland, the son of Robert John Bragg, a merchant marine officer and farmer, and his wife Mary née Wood, a clergyman's daughter. When Bragg was seven years old, his mother died, and he was raised by his uncle, also named William Bragg, at Market Harborough, Leicestershire. He was educated at the Old Grammar School there, at King William's College on the Isle of Man and, having won an exhibition (scholarship), at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1884 as third wrangler, and in 1885 was awarded a first class honours in the mathematical tripos. University of Adelaide In 1885, (at the age of 23), Bragg was appointed (Sir Thomas) Elder Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Physics at the University of Adelaide, and started work there early in 1886. Being a skilled mathematician, at that time he had limited knowledge of physics, most of which was in the form of applied mathematics he had learnt at Trinity.

Also at that time, there were only about a hundred students doing full courses at Adelaide, of whom less than a handful belonged to the science school, whose deficient teaching facilities Bragg improved by apprenticing himself to a firm of instrument makers. Bragg was an able and popular lecturer; he encouraged the formation of the student union, and the attendance, free of charge, of science teachers at his lectures. Bragg's interest in physics developed, particularly in the field of electromagnetism. In 1895 he was visited by Ernest Rutherford, en route from New Zealand to Cambridge; this was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. "The turning-point in Bragg's career came in 1904 when he gave the presidential address to section A of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science at Dunedin, New Zealand", on "Some Recent Advances in the Theory of the Ionization of Gases". This idea was followed up "in a brilliant series of researches" which, within three years, earned him a fellowship of the Royal Society of London. This paper was also the origin of his first book Studies in Radioactivity (1912).

Soon after the delivery of his 1904 address, some radium bromide was made available to Bragg for experimentation. In December 1904 his paper "On the Absorption of α Rays and on the Classification of the α Rays from Radium" appeared in the Philosophical Magazine, and in the same issue a paper "On the Ionization Curves of Radium", written in collaboration with his student Richard Kleeman, also appeared. At the end of 1908 Bragg returned to England. During his 23 years in Australia "he had seen the number of students at the University of Adelaide almost quadruple, and had a full share in the development of its excellent science school." Whilst in Adelaide, Bragg played tennis and golf, and as a founding member of the North Adelaide and Adelaide University Lacrosse Clubs, contributed to the introduction of lacrosse to South Australia and was also the secretary of the Adelaide University Chess Assosciation. He also met Gwendoline née Todd, a skilled water-colour painter, whom he married in 1889. Their first son, William Lawrence, was born in North Adelaide in 1890.

University of Leeds Bragg occupied the Cavendish chair of physics at the University of Leeds from 1909. He continued his work on X-rays with much success. He invented the X-ray spectrometer and with his son, William Lawrence Bragg, then a research student at Cambridge, founded the new science of X-ray crystallography, the analysis of crystal structure using X-ray diffraction. From 1914, both father and son contributed to the war effort; W.H. Bragg was connected with submarine detection, at Aberdour on Forth and at Harwich, and returned to London in 1918 as a consultant to the admiralty. In 1915 father and son were jointly awarded[2] the Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies, using the X-ray spectrometer, of X-ray spectra, X-ray diffraction, and of crystal structure. Ten years later, their volume X-Rays and Crystal Structure (1915) had reached a fifth edition. University College London Bragg was appointed Quain Professor of physics at University College London in 1915, but did not take up his duties there until after World War I.

While Quain professor at London he continued his work on crystal analysis. Royal Institution From 1923 he was Fullerian professor of chemistry at the Royal Institution and director of the Davy Faraday Research Laboratory. This institution was practically rebuilt in 1929–30 and, under Bragg's directorship, many valuable papers were issued from the laboratory. In 1919, 1923 and 1925 he was invited to deliver the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on The World of Sound; Concerning the Nature of Things and Old Trades and New Knowledge respectively. Legacy Bragg was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1907, vice-president in 1920, and served as President of the Royal Society from 1935 to 1940. The lecture theatre of King William's College (KWC) is named in memory of Bragg; the Sixth-Form invitational literary debating society at KWC, the Bragg Society, is also named in his memory. One of the school "Houses" at Robert Smyth School, Market Harborough, Leicester, is named "Bragg" in memory of him being a student there.

Since 1992, the Australian Institute of Physics has awarded The Bragg Gold Medal for Excellence in Physics for the best PhD thesis by a student at an Australian University. The two sides of the medal contain the images of Sir William Henry and his son Sir William Lawrence Bragg. In 1889 in Adelaide, W.H. Bragg married Gwendoline Todd, a skilled water-colour painter, and daughter of astronomer, meteorologist and electrical engineer Sir Charles Todd. They had three children, a daughter, Gwendolen and two sons, (William) Lawrence (W.L.) and Robert. Robert was killed in the Battle of Gallipoli. W.H.'s wife Gwendoline died in 1929. W.H. Bragg died in 1942 in England and was survived by his daughter Gwendolen (Mrs. Alban Caroe) and his son, Sir William Lawrence Bragg. William H. Bragg was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1917, Knight Commander (KBE) in 1920, and was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1931.

The Experimental Technique Centre at Brunel University is named the Bragg Building. In 1962, the Bragg Laboratories were constructed at The University of Adelaide to commemorate 100 years since the birth of Sir William H. Bragg. Timeline John J. Carty Award of the National Academy of Sciences (1939) Publications #Publications Wikipedia Biographical Summary: "...Sir William Henry Bragg (2 July 1862 – 10 March 1942) was a British physicist, chemist, mathematician and active sportsman who uniquely shared a Nobel Prize with his son William Lawrence Bragg – the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics: "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays". The mineral Braggite is named after him and his son. He was knighted in 1920... Early years "...Bragg was born at Westward near Wigton, Cumberland, the son of Robert John Bragg, a merchant marine officer and farmer, and his wife Mary née Wood, a clergyman's daughter.

When Bragg was seven years old, his mother died, and he was raised by his uncle, also named William Bragg, at Market Harborough, Leicestershire. He was educated at the Old Grammar School there, at King William's College on the Isle of Man and, having won an exhibition (scholarship), at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1884 as third wrangler, and in 1885 was awarded a first class honours in the mathematical tripos..." American Wins Chemistry Nobel for DNA Work : NPR American Wins Chemistry Nobel for DNA Work Embed Embed American Wins Chemistry Nobel for DNA Work American Wins Chemistry Nobel for DNA Work Embed Embed Roger Kornsberg has won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on DNA transcription. Stanford University hide caption toggle caption Stanford University The 2006 Nobel Prize in chemistry will go to Stanford biologist Roger Kornberg, who discovered how cells read genetic information encoded in DNA. Kornberg is the second in his family to win the prize — his father Arthur won the 1959 Nobel Prize in medicine for his own work on DNA.

Kornberg created the first detailed description of DNA transcription — the process which transfers genetic information stored in DNA to proteins in the body. DNA can be subdivded into genes, which encode specialized proteins that perform specific functions in a cell. Through transcription and translation, cells can read the genetic information from the DNA and produce the amino acids that make up proteins. Kornberg created the first detailed pictures of how this process works at the cellular level. His images shed light on one of the most important chemical reactions in the human body. He will receive the prize, worth $1.4 million, in Stockholm later this year. Article continues after sponsorship October 4, 20063:29 PM ET Melody Joy Kramer Eve (left) and Irene Curie stand with their mother Marie in a garden. The Curie family has won a total of five Nobel Prizes. AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption AFP/Getty Images When Roger Kornberg was 12, he traveled to Stockholm to watch his father receive the Nobel Prize in medicine. This year, Kornberg will travel to Stockholm again –- to pick up his own Nobel Prize. The father-and-son duo received their prizes for their (separate) groundbreaking work on DNA.

Which begs the question: Are Nobel-Prize-winning-genes somehow inherited? Though that's likely to be the topic for some future Nobel contender, clearly some families have what it takes. Two brothers and six fathers and sons have won Nobels since the prize was first awarded in 1901. Four married couples have shared the prize together. Here, a list of some of the relatives that can each pull out a Nobel over Thanksgiving dinner. And you thought bringing that special gravy deserved a prize. The Curie Family Poor Eve Curie. Her older sister, brother-in-law and parents each won a Nobel Prize. (Her mom won two.) Eve was a writer and musician. Imagine what those backseat car rides were like. Eve's parents Marie and Pierre won the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics for discovering the elements polonium and radium. Eight years later, Marie would win a second award, this time in chemistry, for continuing to study the effects of radium and radiation. In 1933, Marie and Pierre's daughter Irene and their son-in-law Frédéric Joliot found that stable elements exposed to radiation were also radioactive.

They also discovered several isotopes, including iodine, which was found to treat thyroid syndrome. In 1935, Irene and Frederic shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Both Marie and Irene died in their 50s from leukemia, after years of radiation exposure. And Eve? Eve is 102 and recently wrote the biography Madame Curie about the life of her mother. The Braggs The appropriately-named Braggs became fascinated with X-rays in 1895, when 5-year-old William Lawrence fell off a tricycle and broke his arm. His father, Sir William Henry, examined the arm using newly discovered x-ray technology. Twenty years later, the two men became the only father-son duo to share a Nobel Prize, winning in 1915 for their work involving X-ray diffraction and crystallography. The younger Bragg then became director of the Cavendish Lab in Cambridge, where James Watson and Francis Crick discovered DNA in 1953. Watson and Crick were later awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962.

The Bohrs Nobel Prize winners are drawn to the Bohr family in the same way electrons circle an atom: through gravitational force. Dad Niels studied with J.J. Thomson, who discovered the electron and made one of the first models of the atom. He also spent time in the lab of nucleus-discoverer Ernest Rutherford. Both Thomson and Rutherford were later awarded Nobels for their work in chemistry. (Thomson's son also won a Nobel, in 1937, for his work in electron defraction.) Niels Bohr was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his own model of the atom. In his model, a small positively charged nucleus is surrounded by waves of electrons. You might remember the image from your high school chemistry textbook — it's still the model we use today. While growing up in Denmark, Niels' son Aage remembers "Uncle" Pauli and "Uncle" Heisenberg, who each won a Nobel Prize for their work in quantum mechanics. Aage would later win his own Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 for his work involving quantum mechanics and nuclear theory.

The Tinbergens In the four years between Jan's win in 1969 in economics and his brother Nikolaas' win in 1973 for medicine, a healthy sibling rivalry most likely ensued in the Tinbergen household. Jan and Nikolaas remain the only brothers to both win the prize. Jan developed the first mathematical models that could be applied to the social sciences. After World War II, he constructed the first econometric model of the United States, a visual model combining statistics and economic theory. He later developed a model which found that large differences between the highest and lowest income level at a company may be counterproductive for the company. Nikolaas — four years younger than Jan — says in his autobiography that he "was not much interested in school [and] only just scraped through, with as little effort as [he] judged possible without failing." While scraping through, Nikolaas spent his time outside observing seagulls. His observations led to important observations on patterns of social behavior in animals. He also is credited with reviving the field of animal behavior after discovering that both instinctive and learned behavior is necessary for long-term species survival. He didn't need to observe seagulls to discover that.

Anyone with siblings would say the same. Physics to Bragg about : Article : Nature Nature 452, 30 (6 March 2008) | doi :10.1038/452030a; Published online 5 March 2008 Physics to Bragg about The first joint biography of the father and son who developed X-ray crystallography. BOOK REVIEWED-William and Lawrence Bragg, Father and Son: The Most Extraordinary Collaboration in Science by John Jenkin Oxford University Press: 2007. 474 pp. £35 William Bragg and his son Lawrence Bragg shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1915 for their joint development of X-ray crystallography. Lawrence was then 25 years old, and remains the youngest scientist to win a Nobel prize. X-ray crystallography transformed molecular structure determination in the physical and biological sciences, and both Braggs went on to long and successful careers in their respective laboratories and as public spokesmen for British science. Beyond the usual obituaries and reminiscences, surprisingly little has been written about this unusual father–son scientific team.

William Bragg is the focus of an affectionate but partial biography by his daughter. In 2004, Graeme Hunter wrote a much more substantial biography of Lawrence Bragg. John Jenkin's new book is the first joint biography of the two men, which puts their work on X-ray crystallography into a familial, as well as a scientific, context. TOPFOTO; SCIENCE MUSEUM/SSPL Professional interactions between Lawrence Bragg (top) and his father (bottom) were often fraught. Born in 1862, William Bragg studied mathematics at the University of Cambridge, UK. In 1885, he was appointed professor of mathematics and physics at the University of Adelaide in Australia, where he became a key member of the nascent intellectual community in South Australia's capital. He married into the colonial élite, and began to establish both a family — Lawrence was born in 1890, Robert Charles in 1892 and Gwendolen Mary in 1907 — and his scientific career. William's first research, on radioactivity, brought him into contact with Ernest Rutherford and other luminaries of the new physics.

Working in antipodean isolation, Bragg relied on advocates in the European and North American research communities to engage with and promote his work. His controversial 'neutral pair' interpretation of X- and -rays involved him in debate in the pages of Nature and elsewhere in 1908. This brought him to wider notice and back to Britain. In 1909, he was appointed professor of physics at the University of Leeds, UK, where he continued his research on radiation. Educated initially under his father's auspices at the University of Adelaide, Lawrence Bragg then studied maths and physics at the Universityof Cambridge, UK, followed by research work there in J. J. Thomson's Cavendish Laboratory on the eve of the First World War. During this period, Lawrence and his father drew on work by Max von Laue and others to develop the theory and technique of X-ray diffraction. Their pioneering research on crystal structures, and thereby the Nobel prize, followed. Neither Bragg travelled to Stockholm to collect their prize as both were involved in war research: William worked on submarine detection, Lawrence on sound ranging. They were the lucky ones; Robert Bragg died at Gallipoli in 1915.

The crystallography work is the climax of Jenkin's detailed account of the Braggs' early careers. The bulk of William and Lawrence Bragg, Father and Son focuses on the family's life in Australia. Jenkin, himself from Adelaide, has assiduously mined Australian and British archives and gives us a wonderfully rich picture of the Braggs in Adelaide — a useful corrective to later UK-centred accounts. Although only one of the 19 chapters is devoted to the prizewinning collaboration, Jenkin draws on unpublished material to throw some new light on this work. Despite a slight tendency to romanticize the Braggs, Jenkin deals effectively with the difficulties of being on the geographical margins of a research community and of establishing credibility from a position of intellectual isolation. Brief comparisons with analogous academics working in other fields might have added a broader sense of perspective here. He also opens for debate the issue of relations between father and son over the allocation of credit for X-ray crystallography. Lawrence seems to have felt unjustly treated, and professional and social contacts with his father were often fraught. Again, a comparative study — on the atomic physicists J. J.

Thomson and his son George Paget Thomson, for example — might have helped us to get a better sense of the validity of Jenkin's argument. In 1915, William accepted the professorship of physics at University College, London, from where he hoped to play a more prominent part in national scientific administration. In 1923, he became director of the Royal Institution. There, he oversaw the growth of X-ray crystallographic research and what is now called public engagement until his death in 1942. He was one of the most prominent spokesmen for science in the interwar period, and president of the Royal Society between 1935 and 1940. Notwithstanding its early brilliance, most of Lawrence's career came after the events described in the book. In 1919, he succeeded Rutherford as professor of physics at the University of Manchester, UK, and created his own research school to study the X-ray crystallography of inorganic molecules. After a brief period as director of the National Physical Laboratory, UK, he again followed Rutherford to become head of the Cavendish Laboratory.

There, he encouraged the efflorescence of molecular biology, which led to the elaboration of the structure of DNA in 1953. Given all this, and his emphasis on the father–son relationship, it is a pity that Jenkin squeezes the entirety of the Braggs' post-1920 careers into two short chapters, and that he chooses to use his brief epilogue to quarrel with Hunter's recent interpretation of Lawrence's relationships with his parents. Perhaps there is scope for a follow-up volume dealing more fully with the Braggs' later careers and the elaboration of Jenkin's views of the darker side of this 'extraordinary collaboration'. Jeff Hughes is senior lecturer at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. He is author of The Manhattan Project: Big Science and the Atom Bomb. MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated. NEWS AND VIEWS Bragg | Define Bragg at Dictionary.com Bragg [brak-stuh n] /ˈbræk stən/ (Show IPA), 1817–76, Confederate general in the U.S.

Civil War. 2. Sir William Henry, 1862–1942, and his son, Sir William Lawrence, 1890–1971, English physicists: Nobel Prize winners 1915. Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for Bragg Expand Camp-Fire and Cotton-Field Thomas W. Knox Bragg sits at the head of his table, and bullies the solitary Mrs. Bragg. The Christmas Books William Makepeace Thackeray On the 16th of March he wrote again, this time in answer to Bragg's of the 7th. Stone's River Wilson J. Vance He was sure that Victor was now with Bragg and they might meet face to face again. British Dictionary definitions for Bragg Expand noun 1. Billy. born 1957, British rock singer and songwriter, noted for his political protest songs; recordings include Between the Wars (1985), Workers' Playtime (1988), Mermaid Avenue (1998), and England, Half English (2002) 2. Melvyn, Baron.

born 1939, British novelist, broadcaster, and television executive; presenter of The South Bank Show since 1978 3. Sir William Henry , 1862–1942, British physicist, who shared a Nobel prize for physics (1915) with his son, for their study of crystal structures by means of X-rays 4. Lawrence Bragg Lawrence Bragg Location of death: Ipswich, Suffolk, England Cause of death: unspecified Remains: Buried, Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge University, England Gender: Male Executive summary: Bragg's Law of diffraction Military service: British Royal Horse Artillery (1915-19, to Major) Physicist Lawrence Bragg studied under J. J. Thomson and was the son of physicist William Bragg . Building on Max von Laue 's pioneering work in x-ray crystallography, he proposed in 1912 what is now called Bragg's law of diffraction, which explains how crystals diffract X-ray beams at specific angles of incidence.

They theorized that the molecular structure of a crystal could be ascertained from observing and analyzing the x-ray interference pattern, and to prove their assertion they designed an X-ray spectrometer and devised a mathematical system for analyzing its data. For this work and their landmark 1915 book on the topic, X-rays and Crystal Structure, the father-and-son team shared that year's Nobel Prize for Physics. 25 years of age when he won the honor, Bragg was and remains the youngest Nobel laureate in history. He was also awarded the Military Cross during World War I, for his work developing technology to pinpoint the position of enemy artillery by analyzing the sound of their weapons firing. He later studied metallurgy, silicates, and the structure of proteins. At the start of his career atomic theory had only recently been accepted, and examining the behavior of individual atoms seemed like science fiction; toward the end of his career he was the director of Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University in the 1950s, as Francis Crick and James Watson used technology largely built on x-ray methodology developed by Bragg and his father to unravel the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

Mother: Gwendoline Todd Bragg (artist, b. 1869, m. 1889, d. 1929) Brother: Robert Charles Bragg (d. 2-Sep-1915 World War I) Sister: Gwendoline Bragg Caroe (b. circa 1907) Wife: Alice Grace Jenny Hopkinson Bragg (m. 1921, four children) Son: David William Bragg (engineer) Daughter: Margaret Alice Bragg Son: Stephen Lawrence Bragg (engineer) High School: St. Peter's College, Adelaide, Australia (1904)

Question: What was the surname of the British father and son who shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1915?
Answer: Bragg